bacon



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEO. BACON AND RICHD. RAVEN, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

HORIZONTAL SQUARE PIANOFORTE.

Speccaton of Letters Patent No. 8,320, dated August 26, 1851 To all whomt may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE BACON and RICHARD RAVEN, of New York city,in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new andImproved Mode of Rendering the Treble Notes of the Horizontal SquarePianoforte Clear and Musical and Obviating their Present Woody Tone; andwe hereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and theletters of reference marked thereon.

, in use.

The nature of our invention consists of substituting for the portion ofthe long wooden or metal bridge heretofore used running under the treblestrings an upright bridge made of cast iron or other metal or metals,extending downward from one to seven inches, which is to be screwedfirmly on to the front face of the tuning pin block, as seen projectedin the drawing No. 2 from O by P and Q, to R, the screws by which it isfastened to the tuning pin block being shown at I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I,I, I, in the drawing No. l, the said bridge to be extended indefinitelyfrom the highest note down toward the bass as may be desired to improvethe tone of the instruments treble notes.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention wewill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

It is to contain a sufcient quantity of cast iron or other metal tosecure the necessary irniness and solidity; say from one to sevenpounds-and to have cast on its face at convenient distances, bracketswhich are to take the place of the brackets that can be detached fromthe bridge which are now alone The said brackets are seen in drawingsNos. l and 2 at C, C on a shoulder or projection of which the soundingboard E (asseen in drawino' No. 2) is to rest and be screwed or rivetedas shown at D in drawing No. 2. We pass the strings through holes toreceive and fit them drilled in a flange (as seen at F in drawings Nos.l and 2) for each note, which flange is cast on our improved bridge, andthen we continue the strings over a button (as seen at G in drawingsNos. l and 2) so cast behind each flange as to support the strings ofthe higher note neXt above, the surface of the said buttons being higherthan the holes in the flanges they are to pinch or press the stringsagainst the upper surface of the holes; making, thus, a reverse bearingin the holes. In this manner we obtain greater solidity and firmness inthe tension and general bearing of the strings, obviating theunsteadiness and want of rmness in the set of the strings on theirbearings in the bridges heretofore in use as shown at S in drawing No.2, where, as will be seen the strings have only a downward and backwardbearing against iron or brass pins driven o-r set in the edge of thelong block bridge formed of wood or metal. Or an upper bearing hasheretofore been obtained by reversing the bridge and pins as seen at Sin drawing No. 2, and fastening the bridge of metal or wood so reversedand so pinned for the bearing of the strings, down to the top of thelong block by a sufiicient quantity of screws to prevent its beingpulled up by the upward bearing of the strings from their rest pins tothe turning pins. A

We form the flanges so as to stand with their faces (as seen at H indrawings Nos. l and 2) in such position to the strings passing throughthem as to make both strings of each note of an equal length, whichthough before done on grand pianos, has never before been done in theconstruction of a horizontal square piano on a bridge of cast iron orother metal or metals, the flange F in our invention being so diagonallyplaced or shaped as to make the distance on both strings of a note(between the belly or sounding board bridge at K, K, K, in drawing No. 2and the holes of our flanges E) in all cases equal. This equality in thelength of the treble strings of each note when hereto-fore obtainedhaving been accomplished in all cases by setting back each alternatebridge pin.

That we claim as our invention or improvement and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is`

Connecting and combining in the horizontal square piano forte in onepiece of cast iron or other metal or metals the bridge A, the bracketsC, the upper bearing by the flanges F, the reverse bearing on thebuttons G the application to the long bridge of the horizontal squarepiano forte, of the method of firmly securing the whole to the restplank by means of the screws I; and the apseen in the model and drawingsby which it plication of the diagonal position of the face isaccompanied.

of the flange so as to make both Strings of GEO. BACON.

each note of equal length to metal bridges RICHD. RAVEN. 5 on horizontalsquare piano fortes as seen at Vitnesses:

H, in the manner and for the purpose in- D. B. TAYLOR,

tended, described in this specification and Jol-IN RYON.

